RepoDepo: Any experiences or stories?

How is this method to purchase a car?

my sister bought a grand cherokee ltd from them. it was about 5-6k less than some of the stuff that was listed on the auto trader. from what i can remember its an auction type thing. dunno how it works cuz prior to her getting the jeep she wanted she was looking at another one and made a bid, next day she calls to say that there was someone that made a bigger offer. weird thing is there wasn't really a date given when bidding was gonna be close. so she had to wait 2 wks before finding another jeep. i suggest picking one of the vehicles that's inside the buildings, usually those ones are the recently acquired ones. i'm a little weary of the stuff that's outside dunno why. i'd go back if we ever decide to get another car.

Any other comments about RepoDepo?

There was a new listing in the Auto Trader for a vehicle I'm interested in, so I put in a bid within the black book value. Within a couple of hours, I got a voice mail saying that my bid was the highest and I could come take a look at the vehicle if I wanted. That seems a little quick...

What price range do their vehicles usually go for, relative to the black book value?

Originally Posted by Rehan

Any other comments about RepoDepo?

There was a new listing in the Auto Trader for a vehicle I'm interested in, so I put in a bid within the black book value. Within a couple of hours, I got a voice mail saying that my bid was the highest and I could come take a look at the vehicle if I wanted. That seems a little quick...

What price range do their vehicles usually go for, relative to the black book value?

depends on the car and condition of the car.
i would say 2-3K less than a market place, but then again if car is more than $10K i would take it to mechanic to inspect the car. Very often the cars looks like they never been washed inside or outside, very dirty and probably in very poor mechanical condition. so inspection is a must.

good luck

I googled a bit more and found that they'll allow a test drive with a 10% deposit. They'll let a mechanic check it out but only on their premises...which makes it a little difficult.

Anyway, I'll probably visit them tomorrow and check it out. And if I really am the highest bidder with no more bids to come, then I'll have to see whether they'll budge at all on the onsite inspection rule.

Saw there was an IS300 on their website a few months ago, was tempting to put a bid... haha!

But again, most of the cars there have high mileage...

I've been there a few times.
The upside is the price of the vehicles, the downside is the combination of the increased risk due to the fact that you can't highway test the vehicle or have a proper inspection at a garage and the fact that it is highly doubtful that someone who couldn't afford their car payments would do scheduled maintenance.
Personally, I would pay more for a car that I could have inspected properly.
The cars they have at RD seem in pretty good condition.
You should be able to get the vehicles for Blackbook as the finance company is looking to reduce its losses, not make make a profit. Someone with more experience buying there, please let me know if this isn't the case.

Originally Posted by Rehan

I googled a bit more and found that they'll allow a test drive with a 10% deposit. They'll let a mechanic check it out but only on their premises...which makes it a little difficult.

Anyway, I'll probably visit them tomorrow and check it out. And if I really am the highest bidder with no more bids to come, then I'll have to see whether they'll budge at all on the onsite inspection rule.

Tell us how it goes, also take pictures of the car

From what I've heard all cars have an initiall auction period, and if they don't get a bid they like(they are told by banks how much is needed to pay off the loan), the car is then available to bid and after each bid they go to the bank and if the bank says that the amount is good enough they ley you have it.

Originally Posted by sumfunny

From what I've heard all cars have an initiall auction period, and if they don't get a bid they like(they are told by banks how much is needed to pay off the loan), the car is then available to bid and after each bid they go to the bank and if the bank says that the amount is good enough they ley you have it.

Yeah, that's basically how it works...the lien holder has to approve the sale price.

I went this morning to check out the vehicle...they didn't have it on the lot right now, though. It was sent to a dealer auction but didn't sell there, so it's coming back to RepoDepo. There are a couple problems with it, which is probably why dealers would not buy it: 1) the rear hatch doesn't open because "the latch is broken", and 2) it has some scratches on the front bumper and side door...enough to require painting.

They don't allow any test drives at all, unfortunately. But I've lined up a mechanic who'll come and take a look if it's okay by my initial inspection. I put down a $500 deposit (a lot less than the 10% RepoDepo says on their website), so they'll hold it for me until I can actually take a look in the next day or so. If the problems I mentioned above are relatively minor, then I may go ahead with the purchase. Otherwise, I'll get my deposit back - via a cheque that they will issue within a couple of days (that's the only drawback to making a deposit).

if you don't mind me asking, what vehicle are you looking to buy and what's the price?

Originally Posted by Rehan

Yeah, that's basically how it works...the lien holder has to approve the sale price.

I went this morning to check out the vehicle...they didn't have it on the lot right now, though. It was sent to a dealer auction but didn't sell there, so it's coming back to RepoDepo. There are a couple problems with it, which is probably why dealers would not buy it: 1) the rear hatch doesn't open because "the latch is broken", and 2) it has some scratches on the front bumper and side door...enough to require painting.

They don't allow any test drives at all, unfortunately. But I've lined up a mechanic who'll come and take a look if it's okay by my initial inspection. I put down a $500 deposit (a lot less than the 10% RepoDepo says on their website), so they'll hold it for me until I can actually take a look in the next day or so. If the problems I mentioned above are relatively minor, then I may go ahead with the purchase. Otherwise, I'll get my deposit back - via a cheque that they will issue within a couple of days (that's the only drawback to making a deposit).

It's a 2003 Mazda MPV LX with 13,871 km...it was purchased by the first owner just 8 months ago.

The bank didn't like my offer of $17000, and they want $17350 instead. That's still not bad for a practically new minivan. (The first owner from whom it was repossessed still had left almost 80 monthly payments of $566/month -- $44000+ in total!)

It won't be on their lot until Monday now, so I have to wait until then to go see it and decide whether to go ahead with it.

By the way, RepoDepo charges a $149 admin fee and $50 licence fee.

certainly a good price on a car that still has warranty

good luck

Originally Posted by Rehan

It's a 2003 Mazda MPV LX with 13,871 km...it was purchased by the first owner just 8 months ago.

The bank didn't like my offer of $17000, and they want $17350 instead. That's still not bad for a practically new minivan. (The first owner from whom it was repossessed still had left almost 80 monthly payments of $566/month -- $44000+ in total!)

It won't be on their lot until Monday now, so I have to wait until then to go see it and decide whether to go ahead with it.

By the way, RepoDepo charges a $149 admin fee and $50 licence fee.

That's a nice price. If there's something similiar to that but, the vehicle is Honda Oddyssey or Toyota Sienna, I'll let my dad know for sure.

Originally Posted by wanted

That's a nice price. If there's something similiar to that but, the vehicle is Honda Oddyssey or Toyota Sienna, I'll let my dad know for sure.

Just keep an eye on their inventory on their website: http://www.repodepo.ca/

I think the purchase I'm making is not the typical kind they have available. It's unusual because at first glance, people would question the odometer reading (less than 14,000km for a car that could be almost 3 yrs old?!)...and the scratches I mentioned are also an issue. Those are probably the main reasons why it didn't sell at the dealer auction...if there was an Odyssey or Sienna without those issues and at a similar discount, it would be snapped up by a dealer very quickly because they know they can make a lot of money reselling one of those.